Summary Quaternary ammonium compounds ( QACs ) represent widely used cationic biocides that persist in natural environments. Although microbial degradation, sensitivity and resistance to QACs have been extensively documented, a quantitative understanding of how whole communities adapt to QAC exposure remain elusive. To gain insights into these issues, we exposed a microbial community from a contaminated river sediment to varie...

Summary Analysis of the structure and inventory of the genome of Nitrosomonas eutropha C91 revealed distinctive features that may explain the adaptation of N. eutropha ‐like bacteria to N‐saturated ecosystems. Multiple gene‐shuffling events are apparent, including mobilized and replicated transposition, as well as plasmid or phage integration events into the 2.66 Mbp chromosome and two plasmids (65 and 56 kbp) of N. eutropha C...